Each month we will feature an article written by senior leaders or faculty which will delve deeper into aspects of education that all schools are dealing with or are fundamental to their success. These articles will give our community a better understanding of the teaching and learning process as well as the value of the SUIS Gubei experience.
每月，协和古北校领导与一线教师将在本刊撰文，聚焦前沿教育议题、深耕学校核心育人理念，展开专业且深度的解读。助力大家洞悉教与学的底层逻辑，深刻感知上海协和高级中学（协和古北）独一无二的办学底蕴与校园求学价值。
In our inaugural issue of ‘Insights’ for 2026-27, Academic Principal, Mr. Rick Spadafora, introduces SUIS-Gubei’s new set of Mission, Vision and Values, with a focus on the mission itself and how it drives our decision making.
在2026‑2027学年首期《洞察》中，学术校长Rick Spadafora先生将向大家介绍协和古北全新的使命、愿景与价值观体系。本期将重点聚焦”使命”本身，阐释它如何驱动我们的每一项决策。
“The goal is to feel a part of something, not just play a part in anything.” —Simon Sinek
“目标在于成为某件事的一部分，而非仅仅在某件事中扮演一个角色。” —西蒙·斯涅克
“A good mission statement is the foundation of every other decision.” —Stephen Covey
“一个好的使命宣言是所有其他决策的基石。” —史蒂芬·柯维
An organization – schools, hospitals, government agencies – without a clear sense of purpose and direction may seem like a busy place but if it doesn’t have tangible outcomes, it’s just motion without a destination.
一个组织——无论是学校、学院还是非营利机构——如果没有清晰的宗旨与方向，即便看似忙碌，若无法产出切实成果，也不过是一场没有终点的空转。
At SUIS-Gubei, we have always operated with an overriding philosophy of ‘East Meets West, Together in Harmony’. Over the years we have had a number of guiding principles, targets, and objectives. However, they have never been truly collated and solidified into a series of guiding statements that can illuminate the present and light the way forward.
在协和古北，我们始终秉持”中西融合，和谐发展”的核心办学理念。多年来，我们陆续出台过一系列指导原则、办学目标与育人宗旨，只是尚未将其系统整合、凝练升级，形成一套既能照亮当下、又能指引未来的纲领性宣言。
Last year, we spent the greater part of 2nd semester establishing what our purpose, direction and clear sense of values are. This involved initial meetings, discussion and planning with the Senior Leadership team. From there we designed a set of 6 questions framed around mission, vision and values with the aim of soliciting the views of various stakeholders in the school.
去年，我们利用第二学期大部分时间着手梳理学校的办学宗旨、发展方向与完整的价值观体系。项目初期，学校领导团队开展了多轮会议研讨与方案规划。在此基础之上，我们围绕使命、愿景、价值观设计了六组调研问题，面向校内家校社群广泛征集意见。
We gathered views from teachers, students and parents. In all, we collated 150 various points of data. With the aid of technology, we synthesized the high frequency statements and phrases that emerged from the data. Once this was done, we went through a process of refinement with the SLT. After several iterations, we were finally comfortable with something we all believed best represented SUIS-GB.
我们收集了教师、学生和家长的看法，共整理出150条有效反馈，并从中梳理提炼出高频出现的关键词与核心表述。完成这一步后，我们与领导团队一起进行了多轮打磨。经过数次迭代，我们最终确定了一份所有人都认为最能代表协和古北精神内核的版本。
Finally, it was imperative that we create visual representations to go along with the text. We are very proud of our final products as displayed below.
最后一项同样至关重要的工作，是为宣言内容打造配套视觉设计。我们对这份最终成果倍感自豪，详见下图。
We unveiled these statements and posters during our Staff Induction Week and had our teachers engage in a series of challenges to highlight the meaning and relevance of these. We also introduced these to our new Prefect Team and asked them how students could best embody these values in daily school life.
我们在教师入职培训周正式发布了这些宣言和海报，并设计了一系列互动研讨活动，帮助老师们深入理解其内涵与意义。我们也向新一届学生领导团队介绍了这些内容，并邀请他们共同探讨：在日常校园生活中，学生可以如何最好地践行这些价值观。
Over the course of this year, we hope to increase exposure to and understanding of these guiding statements through our marketing and media campaigns, school decoration, activities and awards. The aim is to embed these into the fabric of everyday school life and ensure that these are not merely hollow ideas stuck on a wall but are an integral part of who we are and what we do on a daily basis.
本学年，我们希望通过品牌宣传、校园环境布置、各类活动与评优表彰等途径，持续提升师生对这些纲领性宣言的认知与理解。目标是将它们真正融入日常校园生活的肌理之中，确保宣言不只是挂在墙上的空洞口号，而成为我们身份认同与每日行动实践的核心组成部分。
In this post, the focus will be on our mission statement: We pursue academic excellence with curiosity, integrity and resilience. We engage meaningfully with a complex, interconnected world.
在本期文章中，我们将聚焦使命宣言：我们以好奇探索、诚信立身、坚韧笃行，追求学术卓越；世界互联，万象纷繁。我们以真诚对话，以责任同行。
Let me take a moment to unpack this overarching statement.
请允许我花一点时间，来解读这份纲领性宣言。
Firstly, SUIS-GB has always prided itself in academic excellence. With each passing year, our university offers strengthen in stature and breadth whilst our IB Diploma results have increased. The most recent graduating cohort was clearly able to demonstrate both. We don’t just want our students to get the grade and move on to well-known tertiary institutions, we also want them to be hungry for knowledge, to develop and sharpen their curiosities, so that they can explore and push new boundaries in their chosen fields. Although AI is, in some ways, undermining and supplanting cognitive loads, we want our students to be creative thinkers who act with integrity, acknowledging and citing their sources wherever they may come from.
卓越学术始终是协和古北的立校之本。每一年，我们的大学录取在声誉与广度上持续攀升，IBDP成绩也逐年提高。最近一届毕业生正是这两方面成果的有力证明。我们不仅希望学生取得优异成绩、升入知名高校，更希望他们对知识保持渴求，不断培养并磨砺好奇心，从而在所选领域中探索并突破新的边界。即便人工智能能够分担人类一部分脑力工作，我们依然希望学生成为富有创造力的思考者，行事正直，无论信息来源何处都主动标注引用。
Our students will also suffer many challenges and setbacks. That is to be expected. We are cultivating the resilience, grit and determination to help them overcome these and move forward. For that, we also need the support of our parents.
我们的学生也必将面临诸多挑战与挫折，这是成长中的必然。我们培养他们的韧性、勇气与决心，帮助他们克服困难、继续前行。为此，我们同样需要家长们的支持。
The world our children are entering will look very different. It will take much more in terms of skills, abilities and expertise to navigate the chaos and complexity of a swiftly changing landscape, geopolitical uncertainties and an increasingly perilous natural environment. At SUIS-GB, we strive to prepare our students for the potential potential risks and possible rewards they may face by developing intellectual acumen and the characteristics needed to not only survive but to thrive under such adversity.
孩子们即将踏入的世界将截然不同。要应对瞬息万变的全球格局、地缘政治的不确定性以及日益严峻的环境挑战，学生所需具备的技能、综合能力与品格素养将远超以往。在协和古北，我们致力于通过培养敏锐的智识与必备的品格特质，让学生为未来可能面临的风险与机遇做好准备，使其不仅能在逆境中生存，更能蓬勃发展。
That is why our mission is crucial. We are laying the foundations today for the challenges of tomorrow. We are developing brilliant learners who can shine when the way forward is uncertain.
正因如此，我们的使命至关重要。我们今天奠定的基础，是为了迎接明天的挑战。我们正在培养能够在前路未明时依然熠熠生辉的卓越学习者。
▲ Written by Rick Spadafora, Academic Principal
▲ 撰文 Rick Spadafora，学术校长